Top 20 (Catching-up edition): Oregon foreclosure rate up in December, still trails U.S

Here’s the headlines I missed since my last post on Jan. 27. Sorry for the long absence. Thanks for sticking around.

Got a story tip: ryanfrank@news.oregonian.com; 503-221-8519

1. Oregon foreclosure rate up in December, still trails U.S: The Oregon foreclosure rate rose to 1.88 percent in December, up from .97 percent in December 2008, according to First American CoreLogic. But the state is still far behind the U.S. foreclosure rate of 3.16 percent in December. The Portland market is tracking roughly along with the statewide figures. One troubling sign is that the 90-day delinquency rate continues to swell. It grew to 5.75 percent in December, up from 2.56 percent a year ago. In the Portland area, the 90-day delinquency, foreclosure and REO rates all set new highs for the recession in December.

2. Fed’s stimulus project leads to big win for Shorenstein’s new First & Main office tower:Shorenstein faced opening a 16-story office tower early this year without a single tenant until the feds came knocking. The U.S. General Services Administration said it take 70 percent of the First & Main building. The tenants will be relocating from the fed’s Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt office building while it undergoes an extensive renovation. That renovation is among Oregon’s biggest stimulus projects. The First & Main building is at the west end of the Hawthorne Brdige at 100 S.W. Main St. The Portland Business Journal has the story.

3. Robert Duncan Plaza falls into bankruptcy: My co-worker Jeff Manning reports: Chicago-based Rubicon U.S. REIT Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection Wednesday as did a Rubicon affiliate that owns the Robert Duncan Plaza building in Portland. Fourteen Rubicon affiliates also filed bankruptcy, including Rubicon GSA II Duncan Plaza Portland, LLC, which owns the 10-story office building at 333 S.W. First Ave. The building is fully leased, primarily to the U.S. Forest Service and other federal agencies. The Portland Business Journal also reported on the filing.

4. KBS finishes purchase of One Main Place: The Portland Business Journal reports: KBS REIT II, a public, non-traded real estate investment trust, has completed its acquisition of One Main Place, Portland’s 16th-largest office building. KBS, based in Newport Beach, Callif., did not disclose the sale price. Insiders have said the building, 101 S.W. Main St., sold for $57 million. (The current owner, RREEF Realty Investments, paid $69.3 million in 2006.) The 20-story office tower has 315,133 square feet of Class A space and is more than 98 percent occupied. The seller was RREEF. Built in 1982, One Main Place’s primary tenants are Northwest Education Association, Tripwire and Ball Janik LLC. HairM is a retail tenant at street level. KBS-affiliated companies own nearly 800,000 square feet in the Portland area. Holdings include Triangle Corporate Park III in Tigard, Evergreen Park in Hillsboro, and ADP Plaza in downtown.

5. Encore condo prices down 21%: Tom Heinicke, a broker at Meadows Group Inc., explores the pricing changes at the Encore over at his blog, Agent 503. As he notes, the Encore was the one of the last downtown condo buildings to rise at the end of the boom. Tiffany Sweitzer and Joe Weston, two of main players behind developer Hoyt Street Properties, had been holding firm on their pricing despite the huge discounts cut in the market after the Atwater Place auction and later John Ross price discounts. But sales remain very, very slow at the Encore. Weston is a wealthy and patient man but everyone has limits. Heinicke says that the Encore announced another round of price cuts last week and that overall prices are now down 21 percent from the original list. A one-bedroom, 891-square-foot unit that started at $427,000 and is now $342,000, a 20 percent discount. Heinicke says the developers are also offering incentives that include window coverings, washer/dryer, and one-year pre-paid HOAs. Interestingly, they’re offering an interest rate buy down with Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo is also the construction lender on the project.6. Portland City Council approves PGE Park renovation: Jim Mayer reports: The City Council on Wednesday (Feb. 3) approved a $31 million agreement with Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson to renovate PGE Park for Major League Soccer, clearing the way for Portland to become a two-major-league-sports city in 2011. In a provision that eased their worries, Paulson promises that if his company, Peregrine LLC, cannot complete the city-owned ballpark's reconstruction for any reason, he and his father, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, will pay to finish it. Under the agreement, Paulson will pay $8 million in cash upfront and an additional $11.1 million into the city's Spectator Facilities Fund as prepaid rent to serve as a construction loan. The city will borrow $11.9 million, with repayment coming primarily from ticket taxes at PGE Park and Trail Blazers games.

7. Bank of America takes deed to former Columbian building: The Vancouver newspaper emerged from Chapter 11 last week. But as part of the reorganization plan, the owners of the Colubmian’s former building agreed to transfer the deed to lender Bank of America.8. West Linn mortgage broker pleads guilty to bank fraud: A West Linn man pleaded guilty to bank fraud Feb. 9 in U.S. District Court in Portland for providing false information to obtain home loans. U.S. Department of Justice officials said Joel D. Surprenant, 43, admitted that while employed as a mortgage broker for Morgan Financial in August 2006, he provided false information to obtain a loan for property in Hood River. He subsequently defaulted on the loan resulting in a loss of more than $96,000 to the lending bank, First Franklin Financial Corporation.9. Metro, 3 PDX counties approve urban expansion areas, farm protections: Eric Mortenson reports: Metro and the three Portland-area counties rolled the dice on a collaborative future Monday, approving a long-range planning map that designates which areas will be developed and which will be reserved for farms and forests for the next 40 to 50 years.

10. HUD chief comes to Portland to unveil sustainable community program: Amy Hsuan reports: Portlanders have long touted their walkable neighborhoods, speedy mass-transit trains and pedal-friendly policies without much applause from Washington, D.C. But Thursday, they got a nod from Shaun Donovan, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary, who chose the city as the place to announce a new Obama administration initiative: the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities. 11. Teufel Nursery clears Chapter 11, paying off debts: Eric Mortenson reports: The bankruptcy court approved a reorganization plan for Teufel Nursery this week, clearing the way for the company to repay its debts and move on. The company owes $5.9 million, which includes the original loan, all money due to creditors and various fees. The back-and-forth lawsuits have been dismissed.

12. Tualatin wants to extend urban renewal for 25 years: Brad Schmidt reports: City leaders want to spend an additional $120 million in urban renewal funds during the next 25 years for 15 projects expected to enhance central Tualatin.

13. ‘Greenfield economics’ may be what draws people to PDX suburbs – for now: Lifestyle preferences, our love of cars, development subsidies and urban industrial pollution are all factors in the move from the city to suburbs, he says, but the most powerful may be what he calls "greenfield economics" -- the appeal of being able to start from scratch, according to an urban affairs blogger.

14. Astoria brewery to renovate downtown building: John Foyston reports: Thanks to the expanding Fort George Brewery and Pub, Astoria will soon be a canning town again -- but instead of fish, these cans will contain 16 ounces of Vortex India Pale Ale. In October, Fort George partners Chris Nemlowill and Jack Harris bought their entire city block with the help of the Small Business Administration. The purchases include the 1924 Fort George Building that houses their brewpub -- they previously leased 2,900 square feet of the building -- the adjacent 1921 Lovell Building, a disused 30,000-square-foot GM auto dealership and other property for $1.65 million with the help of Small Business Administration loans.15. Construction, wood proudcts to lose 7% of jobs in 2010: In his quarterly forecast, State economist Tom Potiowsky told state Legislators on Monday that Oregon is in a long, slow recovery. But that recovery won’t be even among the industries. Businesses tied to real estate will continue to struggle in 2010. Construction and wood products are both projected to lose about 7 percent of their jobs this year.

17. A Fox Tower steakhouse?: That’s the grist churning through the local food rumor mill. The retail brokers at Urban Works say that rumors put either Ruth Chris or Ringside as new tenants in the former second-floor space formerly occupied by power lunch hot spot Harrison. It only seems right that the Fox Tower have a steak house. Urban Works also has the latest on a brunch joint to be opened by the guy who runs Toro Bravo on North Russell.

18. Soho 321 in Pearl District foreclosed: Wendy Culverwell at the Portland Business Journal reports: On Dec. 17, Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge appointed Tyrell “Terry” Vance to manage the empty Soho 321 until it is sold at auction. A former cold storage facility being converted into Class A office space at the edge of Old Town, the project was put into receivership as part of a complex foreclosure case filed on behalf of a lender and a subcontractor against its developer, Milwaukie-based JBH Co. Amalgamated Bank, representing a union pension fund that issued a construction loan for the project, asserts JBH defaulted on terms of its loan. Total Mechanical Inc. sued for lack of payment for its work on the $30 million project.19. Wells Fargo, BofA account for 45% of 2009 originations: Inside Mortgage Finance reports that Wells originated $427 billion in mortgages and BofA $391 billion. That was nearly half of the $1.8 trillion in home mortgages
made last year, according to the trade journal.

20. Icebreaker's U.S. headquarters in PDX gets LEED gold certification: Icebreaker, an outdoor apparel company, got a LEED gold rating on its new U.S. HQ in the Pearl District. Their offices, at 1330 N.W. 14th Ave., opened in December 2009 and were designed by GBD Architects Inc.